Virgin Atlantic

[00dave]

As some of you may remember me saying I've just been to New York last week. Holiday was great but had a few problems with the flight back.
The flight there was great, we'd been given rubbish seats but without being asked the staff at Heathrow gave us better seats at an emergency exit, you know the extra leg room but part of the team seats.
But when we got to JFK we were greeted at the check in desk by the most uninterested fat American woman who gave us our seats and the most unsincere "enjoy your flight" I have ever heard. Our seats turned out to be right in the middle of a large school trip, so I spent 6 hours surrounded by scummy Brummie kids gathering in the aisles, shouting, arguing, playing with the lights, etc. It was a night flight so the idea was I was going to sleep so I could drive back to Lincoln straight away. That proved to be impossible thanks to the little shits and at no point did the cabin staff try to control the situation or ask the fucking useless teachers to deal with them.
So I've written a letter of complaint to Virgin Atlantic and filled out a flight feedback form stating my disatisfaction with the service. I have heard Virgin are quite good at following these things up but have any of you guys ever dealt with Virgin customer services before, and what can I expect from them?

 

[Sparx]

have any of you guys ever dealt with Virgin customer services before, and what can I expect from them?

If they are anything like Virgin Media Customer Services then your lucky if they can even speak English properly never mind read it

The Virgins CS is the biggest joke around

 

[DaGaffer]

Virgin can be a bit variable like that. Coming out of the UK I've never had poor service (quite the reverse, they were brilliant on my trip to SA last December, and I've been upgraded a couple of times going to the US), but American ground staff can be downright rude (I think they try to pull off the relaxed-but-friendly style the UK crews have but end up with lazy-over-familiar instead). They will follow your complaint up, and you should get a fairly quick response. In more buoyant times you may have even received a freebie of some sort; not so sure now though. Did you have a word with the crew during the flight?

 

[DaGaffer]

If they are anything like Virgin Media Customer Services then your lucky if they can even speak English properly never mind read it

The Virgins CS is the biggest joke around

Virgin Media CS is the old Telewest/NTL operation. Nothing to do with Virgin Atlantic.

 

[Sparx]

Ahh but i said if they were anything like them and not they are the same company, yes?

 

[00dave]

Virgin can be a bit variable like that. Coming out of the UK I've never had poor service (quite the reverse, they were brilliant on my trip to SA last December, and I've been upgraded a couple of times going to the US), but American ground staff can be downright rude (I think they try to pull off the relaxed-but-friendly style the UK crews have but end up with lazy-over-familiar instead). They will follow your complaint up, and you should get a fairly quick response. In more buoyant times you may have even received a freebie of some sort; not so sure now though. Did you have a word with the crew during the flight?

Yes we asked the cabin crew if there was anywhere else on the plane we could sit but we were told the plane was full. One person managed to get reseated, she was in the same situation as us.
Btw how do you go about getting a free upgrade?

 

[Edmond]

Btw how do you go about getting a free upgrade?

Haa Haa, just PM'd him the same question

 

[DaGaffer]

I wish I could give you good news on the upgrade front. I got my US ones back in the days when there was discretion at the desk; they can't do that any more (and don't ask me how I managed to do it then; I've no idea; the first time my colleague had already checked in, they gave me the upgrade without me asking and I also got one for him! And we blagged a limo into Manhattan).

My most recent upgrades last year were entirely down to my GF being in the travel biz and calling in favours, which doesn't really help you. Sorry.

 

[Will]

Virgin Media CS is the old Telewest/NTL operation. Nothing to do with Virgin Atlantic.

Hi, you're speaking to Will. How can I help?



(I'm actually not customer services anymore)

 

[Tom]

Did you ask the stewardesses if they would stop the kids making a racket?

 

[Cadelin]

Yes we asked the cabin crew if there was anywhere else on the plane we could sit but we were told the plane was full. One person managed to get reseated, she was in the same situation as us.

Unfortunately if the flight is full there is very little that can be done. Especially with children even if you tell them to be quiet they will still make sound by whispering and eating crisps etc. On flights they do give you a little flight pack which contains some ear plugs. Did you use these and would they have blocked out the noise or were the kids distracting in other ways? (knocking the back of your seat etc)

They will be sympathetic to your complaint and you will probably be offered a slight discount (10-15%) on your next flight with them or a few small freebies. Maybe you could try your luck with Virgin Wines?! (assuming you drink wine)

As somebody who travels on planes alot I have invested in a pair of these. Expensive but they work!

 

[00dave]

They were knocking the seats as well, at one point they were all stood up in a little group behind my girlfriend's seat leaning against it. TBH though even if they weren't I wouldn't have felt comfortable sleeping anyway.

Well they haven't got back to me yet, how long do these things normally take?

 

[nath]

They were knocking the seats as well, at one point they were all stood up in a little group behind my girlfriend's seat leaning against it. TBH though even if they weren't I wouldn't have felt comfortable sleeping anyway.

Guh.. aren't kids precious.

 

[MYstIC G]

Virgin Media CS is the old Telewest/NTL operation.

The last time I called them when I was on Blueyonder, I managed to get the guy on the other end of the phone to admit that their internal network was down because he kept fobbing me off. Blueyonder had so much promise, now it's all been flushed away. Bit of a shame really.

 

[Ch3tan]

Blueyonder was great. I am on the verge of leaving Virgin now, I am fed up with the random capping, the lack of HD channels and the very poor customer services if you have an issue. I just do not want to pay BT £125 to "reinstall" a phone line.

 

[MYstIC G]

If you've already got a BT box with the wires still in it, they generally charge you a lot less. Hooked up an old one in the office and it was something like £30 at the end. Ask BT & see what they come up with mate.

 

[00dave]

Ok they still haven't got back to me, do they normally email, phone, or send a letter?

 

[DaGaffer]

Ok they still haven't got back to me, do they normally email, phone, or send a letter?

I think it will be weeks, not days. You should have had an acknowledgement though.

 

[SilverHood]

Nevermind about the seats, did you get to bang your ex, and did she find out about becoming a paramedic in New York?

Ok, so about the flight, I've shared your experience. Coming over here is great, flying back is awful. They changed plane types about 5 days before I was last due back in England, and I don't fit in that particular Airbus seat (I'm 6ft 4). When booking the flight, I specifically ensured it wasn't the Airbus with the low seats and no leg room....

So get on the flight, and my legs in the isle, where they constantly trip up the cabin staff, and get my knees rammed with the trolley several times, followed by a "sorry!".

I've given up on Virgin Atlantic now, American Airways or British Airways for me, American having the most leg room in any cattle class seat I've ever flown in, but no online check in, otherwise I'd prefer them over BA any day.

Post your letter of complaint and the response please

 

[00dave]

A gentleman does not kiss and tell

We spoke to a guy at the FDNY official store, I say we, I spoke to the guy for her lol. He seemed to think her experience would be good for her and gave her a load of numbers to call. She also decided she could easily live over there.

So where abouts in the city do you live/stay?

 

[SilverHood]

Well, glad it wasn't a totally wasted trip then

I live in a tiny 3 bedroom apartment in Midtown East, about 5 minutes walk from Grand Central station. Would be amazing if the apartment wasn't so small and expensive. Instead its' just good

 

[lecter]

Flight upgrades are few and far between these days. Having said that Virgin are better than most. British Airways are worse than most (probably all) other airlines. Unless you fly more than 4 times a year business class long haul you're not even on their radar for upgrades.

I have had similar experiences with both JFK and Newark virgin check in staff. They're utterly useless. I would be interested to know how Heathrow Terminal 3 is now the refurb is probably finished. It always used to be shit for check-in/security. Probably why i've flown BA the last few times i've been long haul.

 

[00dave]

Terminal 3 virgin checkin staff were excellent, couldn't fault them.

Still not heard anything btw.

 

[00dave]

Bastards!!!

Hello Mr 00dave Thank you for emailing us about your trip to New York. I was concerned to hear that you and your travel companion didn't have a relaxing return journey because of the children seated near both of you. I can imagine how frustrating this must have been. If the children are disturbing our passengers on board, our crew will definitely have a word with the seniors in charge of the group. I'm sorry this wasn't the case on your flight and I assure you that this isn't typical of us. I've spoken with our crew performance manager to make sure we tighten things up in the future. You even mentioned that you weren't given an option to choose your seats at check-in. Mr 00dave, our ground staff will allocate seats on a random basis, and if you wish to have a specific seat, you'll need to let them know about it. They'll try and give you the seat you want subject to availability. Nevertheless, I'm sorry you didn't have a comfortable journey and it's evident that we let you down. I'm afraid we're unable to compensate you or offer any gesture. We've got guidelines to follow when it comes to assisting passengers in such a situation. I know this wasn't the answer you were hoping for, but I'm sure you'll understand why we're unable to meet your request. On a positive note, it's nice to hear that you had a pleasant outbound journey. I hope you'll choose to fly with us again for your next trip to New York,and we'll try to make your flight smoother and more enjoyable. Kind regards Nobjockey (Mr) Customer Relations Executive

 

[SheepCow]

I had an issue with Virgin Trains a while ago, they were lovely and paid for my next choochoo journey

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Obviously it's nothing to do with Virgin that there happened to be kids on it.

Would you write to the bus companies and complain that there were children on it?

Serves you right for flying to new york to try and get your end away tbh.

 

[Sar]

I'm flying to New York and then onwards to Atlanta in 2½ months. If there are kids anywhere near me (other than my own) and they're playing up, then they will know to shut up PDQ.

I'll not be sitting for 7-8 hours putting up with that shite.

 

[00dave]

Obviously it's nothing to do with Virgin that there happened to be kids on it.

Would you write to the bus companies and complain that there were children on it?

Serves you right for flying to new york to try and get your end away tbh.

as per usual you missed the point by miles, I wasn't complaining about the children I was complaining about the seating arrangement. Placing other passengers in amongst the children is just simply unacceptable, even one of the teachers told me that on the flight out the kids were all lumped together in one section of the plane with no other passengers for them to disturb. Heres a basic diagram to show you how it was,
- = school trip kid x = other passenger.


--- ---- ---
--- ---- x--
--x ---- ---
--- xx-- ---
--- xx-- ---
--- ---- ---

 

[Wazzerphuk]

As per usual you took the bait like a hungry little fishy.